Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1887-04-20
CHINESE LOVE STORY.
Ente of the Hero and Heroine and
Their Tails.


ut is Chinese love story am going
to relate" said the painter.
"A Chinese love storyP" asked Lucia.
ado the Chinese ever fall in loveP"
Indeed they do" returned the
painter. "Look now at your plate,
Your blue China plate. There the story
is told in crude Chinese fashion, but
| can interpret il for you, think. See,
in the right-hand corner of the plate is
n group of blue islands, with trees and
pagodas, all of the same azure color,
dotted over them, while tall blue trees
bend over the pagodas and the islands
are separated one from the other by
small blue straits. Over this island
empire the great Emperor Pelikan
reigned.
Pelican" interrupted Assunta;
"why, that is the name Of an ugly,
clumsy bird"
"Pelikan was, assure you," re-
turned the painter firmly, "the name
of that Emperor. This palace, built in
the style of the early Chinese renais-
sance, was, owing to the stormy reigns
of the Emperor9s predecessors, de-
cidedly in need of repair. Why. the
china bells of the tallest pagoda had
all fallen off into the water. The di-
lapidated state of his palace occupied
the Empcror's thosghts more than the
beauty of his daughter, the young and
lovely Princess Swen-Kiang."
"Oh, what funny name for Prin-
cess" exclaimed Assunta.
"Swen-Kiang, genuine Chinese
name, slgnorina, just as genuine as her
lovely, long pigtail, which hung down
to the very hem Of her yellow silk
gown"
"Oh, that is not very long," objected
Lucia, for the gowns of the Chinese
ladies are very short"
Excuse me, but the gown of the
Princess was quite as long as Lucia's
walking dress. The length and glossi-
ness of this incompatible r6gtail had
caused a mighty King, Yoo-1oo, to fall
in love with and offer to marry her.
II was very grand match for Sven
| Kiang, for her father was only an En-
peror over few poor little islands.
But the King Yoo-Foo had two very
serious faults in Swen-Kimg's eyes;
he was old enough to be her great
grandfather. and besides THAT he was a
hunchback."
"Oh, returned Lucia, teasngly,
'thosc are not such very serious faults
IN a King
'Alas!' returned the painter, 1.-The
Princess was so ignorant, so childish.
she lived, you know, more than thou
sand years ago, she thought them So
She was very unhappy at the idea of
marrying the ugly old King. And in
her despair she shook off all the blue
bells from her tower, and trumpled up
on and crushed to pieces the delicate
snail shells that formed the ornamental
borders of her flowcr-beds, would even
in her despair have laid violent hands
on her precious pigtail if her maids of
honor had not rushed TO the rescue.
After shedding torrents of tears, and
stamping her pudgy little feet till they
ached, she left her porcelain tower,
and taking her iishing-rod went off TO
the shore to divert her mind by fishing
AS she fished she sang. The song the
Princess sang was of her own improv-
isation. Here it ss
| Fishing went by the silver sea,
But caught, alas! ana woe is me,
Never a fish with scales of gold;
| Only gander, gryly and old,
Who went swimming past.
gandcr. old, ugly and GRIM
What In the world shall do with him7
Tra-la-a, Tralala.'
81 don't think much of that song,
even if Princess did sing it," ex-
claimed Lucia.
''1n the Chinese ii is more melodi-
Gus, rejoined the painter; 'it is, am
afraid, badly translated"
Ibid you translate itP" asked Assun-
ia. slyly.
The painter turned red and went on
rapidly. This song, sung in Chinese
and in the sweet voice of Swen-Kiang,
attracted the attention of youth who
was pacing the sands not very far
away. This young mans name was
Tu-foo. He was the architect en-
ployed by the Emperor Pelikan TO re-
hang the bells on his pagoda. T-foo
approached the Princess slowly and
dilldently, threw himself face down.
ward at her feet; then, still kneeling,
he felt in the bosom of his silken robe
and drawing out his visiting card,
painted in the highess style of Chinese
art on rice paper, crimson in color and
q foot and half long, respectfully pre-
scented il.
The Princess had not caught any
fish, aud besides had grown tired of
sitting there on the shore alone. So
she graciously deigned to receive his
card, glanced at the youth, and per-
ceiving that his Dyes were as narrow
and oblique and his pigtail almost as
long and thick as her own. pronounced
him TO herself very handsome man.
She commanded the kneeling youth to
arise and scat himself by her side.
Well, the Princess and the architect
sat there on the sands, and the little
blucbirds above their heads sang and
sang and flew about and around them.
The line fell from the Princess hand
and sank down into the sea. How Tu-
foo found the courage TO do so / don't
know. but an hour had hardly gone by
when he flung himself at the Princess
little feet and begged her to be his wife
and share with him the artists loaf.
Artists loaf-how does IL taste, I
wondcrp" asked Fclicita. who had not
spoken before.
"Oh, not so bad; il is kneaded by the
Muses. and baked by Apollo. Some
people, not many fear. however, eat
IL with relish, ut least in China AMI
japan, II not in England or America.
Still, Swen-Kiang. was prudent girl.
though not prudent enough to prefer